An international agreement has been signed in the Turkish capital Ankara on the Nabucco gas pipeline.

The link is designed to transport natural gas from Caspian Sea countries to the European Union, avoiding Russian territory. The EU wants to limit its dependence on Russian gas.

Turkey, Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania were represented at the signing ceremony in Ankara. It is not yet clear which countries will be supplying gas for the pipeline, which will be over 3000 kilometres long and is due to be ready in 2014. Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Iran are all possible suppliers.

image: Nabucco pipeline route (c. Nabucco)